Elite Rowing Coach Blog

Jan 14, 2019

Jan 07, 2019

This March, I am running a set of erg camps. They are each 3 days long and limited to 4 participants. I am looking forward to helping rowers safely achieve their rowing dreams. Thanks to Elite Coaching, I stayed injury free throughout my career. Rowing injury free should be the norm for every athlete. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In the US, new rowers rarely get enough coaching attention at their clubs. This leads to bad technical habits, frustration, power loss, and many times chronic injuries. I look forward to coaching the camps and having the rowers steadily get closer to achieving their...

Jan 06, 2019

Do you watch your power curve when you train? You should. Power curves can tell you how you connect to the blade or the flywheel. Be aware of the differences on how the power curves are calculated. Some machines use time versus distance to establish the X-axis. Have you heard of “high plateau, double valley, shark fin acceleration?” Those are terms used when observing power curves. No matter what age the rower is, learning the right way is never too late. I was lucky with my Elite Coaches. They tuned me in to understanding power curves at a young...

Dec 17, 2018

I just finished coaching our Erg Winter Camp here in Orange County, California. Here are some of my thoughts: Making Elite Coaching information available early in a rower’s career has immediate performance impact. Teaching rowers how to strengthen physical weaknesses prevents chronic injuries. Training intensity evaluation helps rowers avoid overtraining and maximize results of time invested. Psychological tips and tricks help overcome physical and mental barriers at different stages of development. Correct stretching shields rowers from back injuries. Discussing training methods gives rowers a deeper understanding of club conditioning, its shortcomings, and how to maximize the outcome despite it. It...

Dec 06, 2018

Details matter, but what constitutes a “detail that matters” depends on who you ask. This morning, I physiologically evaluated a great local rower on his bike, which was set up on a home trainer. As I walked up to him, I noticed how his bike was set up and how it affected his leg-drive. I immediately spotted a “rigging” issue. The angle of his knee and his pedal stroke were off, not by much, but enough to catch my eye. To a trained eye this was a detail that mattered, a major issue, because it could definitely lead to a...

Nov 12, 2018

The above picture shows me working with a rower on the East Coast in real time. The internet is awesome! I love sitting outside in my backyard in Southern California and help rowers attain new heights! My wife took this screenshot on Friend Finder while I was coaching in the Newport Beach Harbor. Below, you can see a view of the back bay. I use this bridge to get to my coaching launch. Last but not least, this is my mobile office :-) Thanks to Elite Coaching, I was recruited to Brown University, stayed undefeated, and won Olympic gold...

Oct 24, 2018

High school rowers are taught all over the country by coaches who don’t have elite experience, or an elite coaching tree. They are energetic, well-meaning and inspire confidence, but they do not produce Top 10 rowing recruits every year, or for many – they never have produced a Top 10 rowing recruit. So, they are teaching their students to row like the driver who made that inefficient line around the track. The problem is the longer you wait to learn the correct way to row, which will maximize your potential, the harder those ruts become and it is difficult to maintain elite form when you become tired in the race for gold, or the 2k time to be recruited to the college of your dreams.

Sep 05, 2018

Hi Xeno, Yesterday, just 26 months after Eli sat down on the erg for the first time, we dropped him off at Princeton University for his freshman year and to row with the Men's Heavyweight Rowing Team. Along the way he picked up some great wins with PNRA/Mercer, including a bronze medal at US Nats this year at Lake Natoma in the MV4+, and then just 3 weeks ago a silver medal at World Rowing Junior Championships in Racice, Czech Republic in the JM8+ for the USA team (attached pic). In July of 2016, we knew that Eli was late...

Sep 05, 2018

Elite coaching adapted my strengths. It utilized my emotional and psychological characteristics in an effective way. All that passion was channeled into creating the best possible performance in rowing.

Aug 30, 2018

Knee issues in rowing, is that possible?
Sadly the answer is yes.
Injuries and chronic aches are completely preventable.
The cause of aching knees is the lack of attention to detail when it comes to coaching rowers.
Rowing is known for its low impact on joints, so why do rowers get problems with their knees?
Thanks to the Elite Rowing Coaches who taught me, I have successfully avoided rowing injuries.
If you are a rower or a parent who is at a loss in finding solutions, then take a look at the STROKE coaching package.

Aug 28, 2018

What is a total waste of time when you are an upcoming senior in high school and want to get recruited to college? Summer rowing camps to compete at club nationals or Canadian Henley Of course, if the erg score is already “there,” then the above can be of “entertainment value,” but BEWARE: The value of a recruitable erg score keeps changing as new PRs are set by other rowers who are interested in getting recruited to a U.S. college. The worldwide competition NEVER sleeps. Look through my Elite Coaching Packages and simply get in touch with me through the...

Jul 18, 2018

1. Keep up the communication with me and make sure you let me know how you feel mentally and physically. You know my number, use it :-) 2. Temperatures are hot, be smart about where you do your training and what you are drinking. 3. MAKE SURE we are scheduled for our live sessions. This time is very busy and there is a lot of coaching data to process. Make sure you schedule our live sessions together. 4. Send footage of your rowing for frame by frame analysis. This helps you self coach while you train on your own. 5....

Jun 10, 2018

When the body gets tried and you are fighting pain, the first technical flaw materializes through an early opening of the back and breaking of the arms. This makes the legs less capable to focus their power only on the flywheel. (The boat moves less past the oars.) Here is how you can prepare yourself for when the going gets tough and you row yourself through H. From the very first start stroke, and every tenth stroke, KEEP REPEATING to yourself to push the legs out from underneath the triangle of power. This way, you can anticipate how to...